News Summary: Quinoa boom stresses Bolivia farms

MIXED BLESSING: The growing global demand for quinoa by health food enthusiasts is raising prices for the Andean "super grain" and living standards among Bolivian farmers. But it is also putting the pricey crop out of reach among average Bolivians.

WHERE LLAMAS GRAZE: The scramble is prompting Bolivian farmers to abandon traditional land management practices, endangering the fragile ecosystem of the arid highlands where the crop has grown since at least 3000 B.C.

ABOUT QUINOA: Quinoa currently fetches as much as $3,200 a ton, up nearly threefold from five years ago. Though used like a grain, quinoa is actually an edible seed with high levels of protein and amino acids and no gluten.